8 Hackerspaces Changing the Arab World

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Lately, it seems as though we often hear about a revolutionary
new DIY idea like the Raspberry Pi Do-it-Yourself computer, or a successful
crowdfunding campain to commercialize an affordable tool like the
3Doodler printing pen; essentially, we’ve
been hearing a lot about the hacker/maker movement.

Now, with makerspaces cropping up across the Arab world, hopefully
we can expect to see of these stories coming out of the
region.

Many that have launched in the past two years claim an agenda to
make the world a better place by letting anyone, of any age,
profession, or background, use a 3D printer and make their own
electronic circuit. Their newfound creativity could be driven by
post-revolutionary optimism, but hackerspaces involve a lot more
than just 3D printing; they're about inspiring action, sharing
knowledge, and working as a collaborative community.

Here are 8 of the most interesting ones we currently know in the
Middle East:

Fab Lab Egypt, Giza,
Egypt: The Fab Lab Egypt, part of the Fab Lab global
network, focuses on giving everyone the capability to
make “almost anything.” Anyone can come together to share knowledge
and collaborate on projects and hands-on activities. It's a great
place to find machines, tools, skills, resources and ideas to
create new opportunities for economic and social benefit.

Cairo
Hackerspace, Cairo, Egypt: this hackerspace is a
place where everyone in Egypt can share projects, learn, and form
teams to implement a project.

Alexandria
Hackerspace, Alexandria, Egypt: This group
describes itself as “a small community of hackers, geeks,
developers, makers, techies and artists in Alexandria, Egypt.” They
provide a place to brainstorm solutions, modify products, implement
prototypes, and organize workshops.

Fikra Space, Baghdad, Iraq: Last
October, Bilal Ghalib from Gemsi organized a two-day pop-up
hacker space in Baghdad. It was such a success that it was followed
by the launch of a permanent hacker space: Fikra Space. There,
people with common interests, in computers, technology, science,
art and anything else, can meet, socialize, share their knowledge,
build new things or make use of existing things, make workshops and
collaborate. Fikra space provides hacking tools such as 3D printer,
Arduino, electronics, and more.

Lamba Lab, Beirut, Lebanon: This
place is all about making, with a broad definition. It’s a place
for anyone to collaborate on projects on anything from hardware to
cooking, software to creative writing, and music to illustration.
Read more about it on Wamda here.

Tunis HackerSpace, Tunisia,
Tunis: This community of hackers meets
every Saturday in a different place to develop scientific,
technical and artistic projects. Join their group to know where
will be the next meeting.

Sahara
Labs, Tarfaya, Morocco: Sahara Labs is the
latest hackerspace in the region. Only 2 months old, this open
place provides hacking tools such as a 3D printer, Arduino,
electronics, and others. Anyone can become a member of Sahara Labs
and start buidling their own workshops and using the space’s
tools.

Gemsi: The Global
Entrepreneurship and Maker Space Initiative is an organization
that helps hacker spaces take root in the Middle East and beyond.
They are the ones to talk to if you want to foster a maker
community in your city.